In September 2016, the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault released guidance for school districts around creating and sustaining a specific sexual misconduct policy, specifically recommending that districts address sexual violence prevention in their policy. These talking points offer additional suggestions on how to include prevention in a comprehensive sexual misconduct policy for grades K-12.

Many victim advocates have increasingly recognized the benefits of working more closely with sex offender treatment and management professionals, and those systems, in turn, are working to become more victim-centered in their approaches. In 2012, the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) was awarded an Office on Violence Against Women Technical Assistance grant to develop resources related to this type of collaboration. CSOM partnered with the Resource Sharing Project, the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, and NSVRC, over the next few years to develop resources and trainings. The first phase of this process involved surveying victim advocates, sex offender treatment providers, and management officers to identify the current level of cross-disciplinary collaboration occurring in communities. All three groups, interestingly, indicated a strong desire for more collaboration with their local counterparts; however very little meaningful collaboration was actually occurring at the time. The surveys further identified some of the common barriers being lack of understanding of one another’s roles and responsibilities; differing language and philosophies; and not knowing how to get started. The four collaborative partners worked together to create resources and tools to begin to address some of these common barriers, and to facilitate stronger collaborations.

"Promoting Collaboration Between Victim Advocates and Sex Offender Management Professionals: A Resource Package" is the first tool produced by this collaboration.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) seeks feedback from the 60 state and territory sexual assault coalitions and 55 Rape Prevention Education grantees at the state and territory departments of health on prevention priorities in the biannual Priority Poll. Here are this year's results.

This research translation provides a summary of key findings on sexual violence as a component of interpersonal violence that is the wider focus of the Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014. People working to end sexual violence can use these findings to inform data collection, prevention planning and evaluation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships.

These documents support the June 2016 online xCHANGE Forum: Exploring restorative justice and cultural relevance. This forum explores current research and best practices that involves cases of sexual violence and the culturally unique needs of our communities.

The Spring/Summer 2016 edition of The Resource highlights culture in a number of ways:

Director’s Viewpoint: Karen Baker, NSVRC Director, discusses how changes in the culture surrounding sexual violence have been prominent this year, from the Oscars to the White House.

Evaluation is for everyone: Multicultural Efforts to end Sexual Assault (MESA) shares their culturally relevant evaluation process, from building a framework to implementing strategies in the community.

West Virginia’s online academy provides needed resources: West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (WVFRIS) developed an online training academy for service providers.

Community Integrity Program uses evidence-based practices: Princeton University’s Community Integrity Program is a secondary prevention program that holds individuals who offend accountable.

For some patients, there is a correlation between sexual trauma and disordered eating: Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine shares the connections between sexual trauma and eating disorders.

This issue also includes a look back at this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a spotlight on the Hawaii Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s Community Action Teams, and several milestones for NSVRC.

Do you have an idea for a future story? Send your ideas to resources@nsvrc.org with the subject line “Resource Story Idea.”

Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses. This tip sheet provides information for families to discuss regarding campus sexual assault as well as safety, consent, and healthy relationships. A list of questions to ask about how your child’s college handles sexual assault is also included.

NSVRC's xCHANGE Forum summer series is an opportunity for those working to end sexual violence to exchange information and explore new research. Through live discussion researchers, advocates, and practitioners can connect to better understand current research, best practices, and emerging needs.

The National Institute of Justice released a report on violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native women and men. Using data from the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), the report provides an in-depth look at the prevalence of sexual violence, physical violence by intimate partners, stalking, and psychological aggression by intimate partners. The report also looked at the impact of violence on victims. These talking points highlight key findings.

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This site is supported by Grant/ Cooperative Agreement No. 1UF2CE002359-04 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.